Chris Jensen

North Country Reporter

Christopher Jensen worked as a reporter for The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer for 25 years, covering topics including desegregation, the 1st Gulf War, international charities’ fraud and the auto industry. He also wrote stories about competing in off-road races including the 1988 TransAmazon, the Baja 1000, the Paris-Moscow-Beijing Raid and Paris-Dakar.

Since 2007 he has lived in Bethlehem, covering the North Country for NHPR in addition to freelancing on automotive topics for The New York Times. He enlisted in the Army in 1968 and spent 15 months as a combat photographer in Vietnam. He graduated from George Washington University with a degree in journalism.

Ways to Connect

The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch is one of New Hampshire's historic grand hotels. The expansive property sits on about 11,000 acres which include a downhill ski area, an 18-hole golf course and miles of Nordic trails.

In 2011 the struggling, outdated hotel finally closed and was sold to two businessmen from the North Country. Their efforts to revive it failed and in 2014 Les Otten, former head of the American Skiing Company, stepped in to take over the remote resort's redevelopment effort.

It is a hugely ambitious project and holds the promise of hundreds of jobs and an economic boost not seen in the struggling North Country for decades – if ever.

However, there remain major questions about the project’s environmental impact, the state’s role in its financing, and the long-term viability of The Balsams as an economic stimulus for the region.

This month the Coos Planning Board is expected to continue reviewing developer Les Otten’s plan to greatly expand the ski area. And, that's likely to include how close skiers can get to the wind turbines on some of those mountains.

The issue arises because Otten wants to give skiers the maximum vertical drop by getting them to the top of the mountains.

But in 2009 when the Site Evaluation Committee was considering approving that wind farm it worried about people getting too close to the 400-foot high machines.

About 100 people gathered at the All Saints' Episcopal Church in Littleton to grieve and hear some members of the LGBT community share stories of the fear, hurt and sadness of the past, while expressing hope for a better, more compassionate and safer future.

A bill that would give the Border Patrol in Coos County the same arrest powers as police is headed to Gov. Hassan’s desk.

Sen. Jeff Woodburn proposed the idea, saying police can be few and far between in Coos and often the Border Patrol is the first to arrive when there is a call for help, such as a violent, domestic dispute. But without police powers Border Patrol agents risk being sued for intervening.

A search for a Canadian man reported missing Thursday by his mother has been suspended after a man said he saw Francois Carrier carrying a duffel bag as he walked along Route 2 in Gorham Tuesday, Lt. Wayne Saunders said.

"A conservation officer met with the witness and interviewed him and had him confirm through the use of a photo that the man he saw matched the description of Carrier. The witness was confident that the man he saw was Carrier,” Saunders said.

Saunders said the area has been thoroughly covered and searchers “didn’t know where to search next.”

A search will resume this morning for a Canadian man reported missing Thursday in the area of Mount Washington, according to Fish and Game.

Thursday's search for Francois Carrier included K-9 teams, Fish and Game officers and volunteers from the Appalachian Mountain Club, said Lt. Wayne Saunders of Fish and Game.

"These search teams started hiking trails in the immediate area looking for Carrier with no avail. K-9 teams conducted searches of high probability areas and line searches were started in the mid-afternoon,"Saunders said.

A 23-year-old woman from Maine suffering from a medical problem was rescued from the Dry River Trail Saturday evening, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Kristina Reams, 23, began having problems breathing and since there was no cell service a companion hiked out and flagged down a motorist who called for help, conservation officer Alex Lopashanski said.

Rescuers reached her, stabilized her breathing and helped her to an ambulance.

Running a restaurant is a risky business. Many owners don’t figure out all the angles and are out of business the first year or so. But in the North Country, the family that owns Grandma’s Kitchen figured it out more than 30 years ago.

Dennis Streeter and his wife, Linda, have owned Grandma’s Kitchen since 1994.

Linda’s parents owned it for a decade before that.

As a kid, Dennis used to buy ice cream cones here.

So, the couple understands what works in Whitefield and the North Country.

There is no evidence that the death of 18-year-old Emily Clogston from Warren was anything but a no-fault accident, an investigation has concluded.

The accident happened last July in Lisbon as Troop F Commander Todd Landry was heading home with his wife and daughter after getting ice cream, according to the report released Tuesday by Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway.

Cold temperatures and icy trails caused problems for hikers in the North Country over the weekend, says Lt. James Kneeland of New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Sunday morning a hiker who was suffering from hypothermia was rescued on the Falling Waters Trail.

Kneeland said two hikers camped Saturday night, but lacked adequate cold-weather equipment and in the morning one reported “difficulty moving.” Members of Pemi Search and Rescue Team reached them late morning, warmed them and helped them off the mountain.

After almost three years of study, Monday night fish and game officials from New Hampshire and Vermont said they will not go ahead with a controversial proposal to stock the Moore Reservoir in the North Country with walleye.

The idea was scrapped over a concern that the walleye – which typically eat other fish – might hurt the trout population, not just in the reservoir, but in the Connecticut River downstream.

Stocking the walleye was suggested by fish and game officials from both states.

A decision on whether to replace a dilapidated bridge in the Pemi Wilderness Area of the White Mountain National Forest won’t come until early next year. That's longer than expected because the agency is using an unusual procedure to allow additional public comment on the controversial issue, according to the forest service.

The structure is the Thoreau Falls Bridge, which crosses the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River. It is a six-mile hike from the Lincoln Woods Ranger station just off the Kancamagus Highway.

Michael Bartoszek, the original developer of the Berlin biomass plant, has agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $3 million to settle charges he violated regulations, including misleading investors about the prospects and financial condition of his company, Laidlaw Energy Group.

A 25 year-old Pennsylvania man hiking on the Chandler Brook Trail on Mount Washington called for help yesterday saying he was wet and worried about hypothermia, according to Fish and Game.

Evan Scott called for help about noon saying he and his dog were trying to cross a brook, when he slipped off a log and fell into knee-deep water in windy and snowy conditions, said Lt. Wayne Saunders.

Rescuers found Scott at the bottom of the trail. He’d changed footwear, warmed up and said he no longer needed help.

About seven percent of New Hampshire’s residents don’t have access to broadband. But in Coos County that jumps to about 31 percent. That's the worst - by a narrow margin - in the state, according to a new study by the University of New Hampshire.

And much of Coos – which has about 33,000 residents – has no broadband access because the technology is typically offered in the southernmost and most populated part of the county.

The plan to spend about $2.8 million to fix 1.8 miles of Golf Links Road, which connects the now-closed hotel with the golf course, got mixed reactions at a public meeting Monday in Colebrook.

Supporters said it is important to help the Balsams because if it reopens it would be a huge boost to the economy of the North Country.

Opponents said there are many roads in the North Country that need to be fixed. Those include roads that are in terrible shape and ambulances – sometimes carrying desperately ill or injured patients - have to go very slowly.

The department of transportation is holding a meeting this afternoon in Colebrook to discuss one of two projects that will significantly benefit the Balsams resort, even though businessman Les Otten doesn’t yet have the money he needs to resurrect the closed resort.

The state will spend about $3.6 million this summer, with about $2.8 million of that going to fix 1.8 miles of Golf Links Road. It goes from the shuttered hotel to the golf course, but it belongs to the state.

The 2 p.m. meeting at the town hall is to answer questions and hear comments, DOT says.

A 29 year-old man from Massachusetts was killed in a skiing accident at Cannon Mountain over the weekend, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Late Saturday,Trevor Hennessey of Holden Massachusetts was reported missing by his family said Lt. James Kneeland. After his vehicle was found in a parking lot, a search was started and continued through the night.

About 8 a.m. Hennessey’s body was found in the woods near the Upper Ravine Trail.